Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

“No, the steam engine can definitely be applied to more than just trains. It can be applied to all the workshops in my Great Jing. Most of the manual labor will be replaced by it from now on.”

“Textile factories, iron smelting factories, mine development, and many other handcraft workshops in the world, as long as they are equipped with a brand new machine designed with a steam engine, they can replace manual labor, and the efficiency will increase by several times, ten times, a hundred times!”

“The goods and commodities will erupt in an unprecedented manner! In the future, the goods of my Great Jing may completely penetrate the overseas markets around the world with the lowest prices and the best quality. A large amount of gold, silver, and raw materials will flow into my Great Jing continuously!”

“Everyone, please think carefully, what kind of grand scene will this be in thirty or fifty years? What kind of era will this be...”

As Fang Zheng’s passionate speech unfolded, an incomparably magnificent historical blueprint gradually unfolded before everyone.

The sound of a pin dropping could be heard in the audience. Everyone's faces were flushed, their breathing was heavy, and their eyes were filled with fanaticism.

Indeed, what kind of era is this... If what Fang Zheng said comes true, then it will definitely be a scene that even a sage cannot describe!

This technology is simply as dreamy as immortal magic, but it has vividly appeared before their eyes.

Remembering a sentence he often said, 'The times have changed.'

Now, everyone only feels a huge wave sweeping the tide of history towards them, and the sea breeze has arrived!

The times... perhaps they are really about to change...

While everyone was still immersed in their fantasies, Fang Zheng began to pace slowly.

“I know that although the prospects I have described are all very beautiful, you must have doubts about the large number of people who will be replaced by this technology.”

“If these wheels are installed on a carriage, won’t it be possible to do without horses? Even the horses are saving effort, so won’t manpower be saved even more? If manpower is saved, won’t the people become lazy? They will cause trouble when they are idle, and when they are full, they will think of lustful desires? Once the machine turns, people's hearts will change.”

The emperor and officials woke up one after another and looked up.

Indeed, if a large number of idle people are created because the steam engine replaces manual labor, wouldn’t the country be in chaos?

Fang Zheng shook his head and smiled: “I do not deny that manpower will definitely be released because of this. But I can guarantee with my life that there will definitely not be more hooligans and idlers in Great Jing because of this.”

“The manpower required for the construction of railways and the accompanying industries will far exceed that of farming. Those manpower released from the land will be firmly locked in factories, locked in new jobs, just as they were previously locked in the land. This will not change even after five hundred years!”

Looking at the officials lost in thought, Fang Zheng sighed in his heart, suddenly feeling a little tired.

Such a technology, such a shocking invention, should have been actively embraced by all discerning people.

But because of some nonsensical reasons, he had to try every means to give a perfect reason to make people accept and promote it.

The Great Qing of his previous life was just like this. It was extremely difficult to build a railway. A considerable part of the reason was that this technology was in the hands of foreigners, and another important reason was the strong opposition from the conservative faction of the entire court.

Now that the steam engine was born in Great Jing, one less problem existed, but the chronic diseases of people's hearts still required him to spend his energy and effort to dredge them.

Sometimes, he really wanted to be like a male protagonist in an online novel, shaking his tiger body and directly blinding everyone, and then the scumbags would come to trust him unconditionally.

Unfortunately, he didn't bring a golden finger, only a glib tongue and a thick skin....

It seems that everything is going smoothly now, and only the final nail in the coffin is left!

Fang Zheng said affectionately: “Finally, I would like to thank two of the most important people in my life in front of you all. Without these two people, railways, trains, and even steam engines would definitely not have been born.”

“The first is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He has been living in seclusion in secret, not afraid of hardship, regardless of his status, and fully devoted himself to the research and design of the train. He has been studying scientific knowledge day and night. For this, he even transformed a place in the East Palace into a laboratory.”

“Not only that, because His Highness personally joined in, it has also inspired countless researchers in the Royal Academy of Sciences and Dongjiao University. In their hearts, this is the encouragement of the imperial court, the support of the country, so that the progress of research and development can be greatly promoted!”

Having been excited by Fang Zheng's words earlier, and now being praised separately, Li Yuanzhao couldn't help but straighten his chest, and a sense of mission arose in his heart.

The officials' eyes towards Li Yuanzhao changed from surprise to admiration.

Emperor Jing was even more gratified and directly patted his hand on the table.

Seeing Li Yuanzhao receiving such great encouragement for the first time, almost about to shed tears, Fang Zheng smiled knowingly.

Although the Crown Prince is a bit detached, he has really devoted a lot of effort to the research and development of the train. He did not exaggerate too much, and he deserves such a scene today.

Fang Zheng licked his dry lips, took two deep breaths, and pointed his palm towards Emperor Jing: “The second person to thank is His Majesty.”

“The premise of the steam engine's success is the support of Dongjiao University and the Royal Academy of Sciences. Without them, the research would definitely not be successful, and if it weren't for His Majesty, these two institutions would not exist.”

“Not only that! The first person to lay the foundation for the construction of the railway was His Majesty! Without His Majesty's participation and without His Majesty bearing the pressure in front, the train could not have been successfully launched!”

“His Majesty's first shovel at the beginning can be said to be a shovel that created a new history! This situation, this scene...” Fang Zheng paused, his lips trembling slightly, and said in a trembling voice with a look of intoxication: “Your subject only wants to say, Your Majesty... is wise!”

After saying that, he swung his hands out of the shadows and began to applaud frantically.

When the officials saw this, they hurriedly followed, and suddenly an ocean of applause appeared in the backyard....

Listening to the fiery applause, Emperor Jing was stunned, his knuckles clutching the edge of the table turning white.

His chest heaved up and down, and there were faint tears in his eyes...

For a moment, he felt as if these earth-shattering things were really done by him...

It's just that he is not so confused as to not see who is the real hero.

When the applause subsided, Emperor Jing propped himself up and slowly stood up, walking with a bit of heaviness to the steam engine.

He gazed meaningfully at the steam engine and reached out to stroke the cold steel.

Then, he put a hand on Fang Zheng's shoulder, and a soft voice rang in his ear.

“Zheng Yi, you have worked hard...”

....

(Don't scold me, don't scold me, it's not a waste of words!)